HOW TO USE THE ITALIAN VERB “AVERE” WHEN TALKING ABOUT HUNGER
AVERE MEANS TO HAVE:
In Italian the use of hunger is not denoted by “I am hungry” but rather with “I have hunger”. Let’s find out.
Verb: Avere (to have):
- I have- io ho
- You have-tu hai
- She / it has-lei ha
- He / it has- lui ha
- We have- noi abbiamo
- All of you have- voi avete
- They have- loro hanno
Let’s see how we use hunger with avere:
- I have hunger (I am hungry)- io ho fame
- You have hunger (you are hungry)- tu hai fame
- She / it has hunger (she/it is hungry)- lei ha fame
- He / it has hunger (he/it is hungry)-lui ha fame
- We have hunger (we are hungry)- noi abbiamo fame
- All of you have hunger (all of you are hungry)- voi avete fame
- They have hunger (they are hungry)- loro hanno fame
Unlike English, in Italian it is not important to use the personal pronoun in front, unless you want to emphasize.
Other uses of avere:
Other instances where “avere” is used instead of “essere” are for thirst, hotness, coldness and sleepiness.
- Maria ha sete- Maria is thirsty
- Noi abbiamo sonno- We are sleepy
- Loro hanno freddo- They are cold
- Tu hai caldo- You are hot